


The way to a man's heart is through his ears

by Nickie



Category: One Piece
Genre: (like very mild i would say), ASMR, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Romance, Social Media, YouTube
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 14:30:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18317162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nickie/pseuds/Nickie
Summary: In which Zoro is new to the whole ASMR trend and Sanji is an ASMR content creator Zoro develops a crush on.





	The way to a man's heart is through his ears

**Author's Note:**

> i don't really know what to say about this one, i was watching some asmr videos and thought about zosan and boom! did some research about the asmr community and trend and i hope it's somehow accurate ;u; i'm not really sure about how it came out and maybe it will appear weird or something but whatever OTL

Zoro is thankful he arrived on time. Usually he doesn’t mind getting to his classes late but this exam seems pretty important and it wouldn’t be nice to get kicked out of uni just because he’s a lazy ass. Most of the students are crowded in tiny groups, revising the material and checking each other’s knowledge. However, Zoro’s not the type to review anything just before the exam. He knows it’s useless to try and squeeze anything more into his brain last minute. So he walks to the only person sitting alone. Usopp is wearing earphones and doing something on the phone, his eyes fixed on the screen. Zoro stops in front of him, towering over the other male sitting at the wall. When Usopp notices him, he smiles and plucks one earphone out of his ear.

“Yo, what are you doing?” Zoro greets him and nods his head in the direction of Usopp’s smartphone. The man glances at the device briefly before beckoning Zoro to sit down next to him. With a bit of shuffling, Usopp offers one of his earphones to the green-haired friend.

“I watch it when I’m nervous” he explains and scoots even closer so Zoro has a clearer view of the screen. Zoro’s eyebrows furrow considerably when he puts an earphone in before even looking at the screen and weird sounds attack his eardrums.

“What the hell is that?” he finally looks at Usopp’s phone. In the video, someone is rubbing their rubber -gloved hands together, producing sounds that Zoro never thought of as relaxing. How is that shit supposed to help anyone nervous? Zoro looks at Usopp incredulously when an unpleasant shiver runs up his spine.

“It’s called ASMR. Never heard of it?” Usopp asks calmly, as if he didn’t notice Zoro looks like he’s about to break with how much he is tensing his body. “Maybe you just don’t like that trigger. Let’s try something else”

“I don’t want anything else” Zoro growls and almost yanks the earphone out of his ear to end this torture when Usopp skips a minute or two in the video and now the person is touching the microphone with a brush in stippling motions. The green-haired man lets his muscles relax and focuses on the video instead where the same gloved hands swirl the brush around the microphone. Dull but deep sounds suit him much better and he even trembles with a particular swipe. “See? Told ya” Usopp grins proudly and points at the screen. “Dude is really good at that. I will send you a link later”

“Don’t bother” an earphone is thrown towards Usopp when Zoro stands up and the sitting man barely catches it. “I’m not interested”

Usopp lets out a short chuckle, knowing how Zoro is. He is too proud to let anyone know a simple thing like sounds could have any influence on him, let alone make his body betray him and tremble, like a moment ago. They don’t have a chance to banter anymore though because the teacher arrived, but Usopp makes a mental note to remember and send a link to his friend later anyway.

When Zoro gets back to his apartment after he’s done with classes, his phone dings with a notification and he can only roll his eyes with a grunt. Usopp is one annoying bastard when he sets his mind to something. With a cup of instant ramen in one hand and his phone in the other, Zoro sits down at the table. He opens the message from his friend while stirring the noodles and a chuckle leaves his lips.

“check him out! and don’t forget to wear earphones :P” the message reads and Zoro imagines Usopp smirking while sending it to him. The green-haired man doesn’t bother to wear his earphones though. He will just quickly see what the video is about and tell Usopp to shut up. It’s impossible for him to admit that earlier that day he actually enjoyed some of the sounds. It was already embarrassing enough when his body reacted on its own.

Nevertheless, Zoro opens the video and sets the phone above his cup of noodles, slurping them hungrily when the page loads. A simple intro plays first, pale blue letters contrasting with the white background. “All Blue ASMR, huh?” Zoro reads the name of the channel in his mind, not sure if he finds the name cheesy or creative. A few munches of his ramen later and a man appears on the screen. Zoro chokes on a piece of noodle and starts coughing, his eyes tearing up. After pausing the video he rushes for a cup of water and chugs it down in one big swig. Now, this is entirely different from what he watched with Usopp. He didn’t even see that much then, with the hallway lights reflecting on the screen and obstructing most of it. And there were only hands, the whole video was zoomed in on a microphone and hands only.

After making sure he can breathe normally, Zoro finishes the instant noodles immediately and moves with the phone to the bed. His bag is messy and when he finally finds his earphones, they are, of course, tangled. A silent growl reverberates in his throat when he fights with the cord, growing impatient. He wins the battle in the end and plugs them in before propping his back comfortably against the headboard. Another click, the video starts again and Zoro blinks at the screen.

Usopp told him the man was good, but he never told him he was _this gorgeous_. Zoro finds himself glued to the screen, nearly touching it with his nose with how he is gaping. The man is sitting in front of a microphone and he flutters his fingers near to it, creating sounds that elicit a strange feeling around the area of Zoro’s nape. He flashes a charming smile next, vibrant blue eyes looking into the camera (and Zoro’s soul).

“Hi, I’m Sanji, and welcome to another video” the man whispers to the microphone and it takes all of Zoro’s willpower not to pause the video once more. The blond man on the screen focuses his attention on the microphone and rubs it with his hands gently, sometimes tapping it with his fingertips or scratching with his nails in the best way possible. “Today I will relax you with some mic brushing” Sanji smiles at the camera again, the expression as soft as the whisper itself. Zoro gulps when the hushed voice reaches the deepest nooks of his brain and he doesn’t even fight against another shiver going through his body. It’s so strange and unexpected how Sanji grasped his attention within the first few seconds of the video. And here, in the comfort of his apartment, he doesn’t have to act like Sanji’s voice isn’t doing things to him. Things he’s never thought anyone’s voice could do.

“Just lie down and relax” the blond man instructs him and Zoro sprawls himself on the bed fully. He’s really tempted to close his eyes but if he does, he won’t be able to admire Sanji’s beauty and it would be a sin. So instead he follows every of Sanji’s movements as he drags his fingers slowly up and down the microphone and… Zoro’s brain short-circuits because as much as he finds the strokes relaxing, there is something erotic about the way Sanji moves his fingers oh-so-leisurely along the microphone. He thinks, no, _he’s sure_ it wasn’t the creator’s intention to arouse him and yet here he is, his face getting warmer and eyes glazed over. It only gets worse when Sanji moves so close to the microphone his lips brush against it with every next “relax” he whispers over and over again.

Zoro really isn’t the type to get embarrassed easily, especially when he is alone in his apartment, but it’s still upsetting him how easily he developed an erection. It’s different from porn because he isn’t just watching two (or more) people going at it. Sanji is fully focused on the camera and that means he is focused _on Zoro_. His throat vibrates with a groan when the man on the screen replaces fingers with palms flat on the sides of the mic, still stroking it up and down with deep, raspy sounds. There shouldn’t be anything erotic in that action, Zoro muses but his hand travels to the front of his pants and unbuttons them no matter what.

“Just let me take care of you, relax” Sanji whispers with his head gently cocked and shows a sweet smile to the camera. Zoro’s erection twitches in interest when he hears those words. Everything Sanji does and says so innocently only fuels his arousal more because it all fits into his stupid fantasy when it _shouldn’t_. His eyes fix on the blond’s long, bony fingers when his own free his hard-on from the confines of his pants and circle around it. He moves his hand up and down at the same agonizingly slow pace Sanji set. When his eyes close and he focuses on the sound only, his whole body trembles with a newfound excitement. Zoro knows he should be ashamed but he leaves that for later. Now his mind is busy imagining Sanji’s fingers wrapped around his cock instead of his own. It’s so wrong and thrilling at the same time and his hand picks up the pace or he would go crazy.

“Focus on my voice and my fingers” Sanji’s whisper brings a silent moan from Zoro, so much more powerful when his eyes are closed and he relies on his ears only. “I will help you release all that tension” those words actually do it for Zoro and his brow furrows when he comes in his hand, his whole body trembling and lips parted with a choked groan. For a few seconds he can’t hear anything besides the heart hammering in his chest. And when the after-effects of his climax leave him and he hears Sanji’s voice again through the earphones, he tugs them out instantly and pushes the phone away from himself in disgust.

Zoro feels dirty afterwards. Not only literally when he is taking a shower after the humiliating act, but also the next few days when he goes back to that moment with his thoughts. He doesn’t check anything more from “All Blue ASMR”, hell, he even deleted the blameable video from his watch history. He puts Usopp off when he asks him about the video and the other doesn’t mention it more. All Zoro can think about is how shameful of him it was to treat an ASMR video as his masturbation material. He rubs his face tiredly only at the thought. The worst part is he feels bad for Sanji, even though he doesn’t know the man. Wouldn’t he be horrified if he found out someone came to his voice?

The longer Zoro thinks about it all, the more tempted he is to check Sanji’s other videos. But he wants to watch them now from the position of a mature man, not some teenage boy who sees anything as porn. After debating with himself, Zoro’s curiosity wins and he sits down on his bed in the evening and searches up “all blue asmr”. He chooses a video that seems safe - “Soft spoken tapping on things”. It starts off with an intro again and Sanji appears on Zoro’s screen once more after all those days. He waves at the camera slowly with his fingers before speaking softly, his voice on the verge of whispering but still audible.

“Hi, welcome back to my channel. I’m Sanji and today I will help you relax with some tapping”

It’s much easier this time to watch the video like he should, Zoro notices. He focuses on the different sounds Sanji produces while tapping on various objects – hollow rumble of a wooden box, full clicking of Sanji’s phone case, gentle jangle of a porcelain cup. All of the sounds are able to relax him for real, and this time the blond’s comments are rare and short, usually indicating that he will change one object to another. Zoro still finds Sanji extremely attractive, there’s no arguing about that, but at least he’s able to control his stupid hormones and enjoy his beauty more like art than a top-shelf magazine.

Every time Zoro gets ready for sleep, he puts his earphones on and checks another video from the channel. Not all of them are relaxing to him, but, according to Sanji’s video called “Let’s find your perfect trigger”, people react positively to different sounds. So Zoro swipes through the vast selection of Sanji’s ASMR videos and decides which triggers work for him and give him this strange feeling on his nape called tingles. It’s usually the brushing sounds that do it for him, sometimes slow tapping that creates deep, echoing sounds. They work perfect after a tiring day and lull him to sleep in no time.

After watching yet another video from Sanji, Zoro decides to check the description box below it, curious what he can find. There’s a link that says “Support me!” so of course Zoro clicks on it. His eyes narrow when the screen brightens up as a page opens, white and blue like Sanji’s channel’s intro colours. It’s a page allowing people to donate if they like his work and the higher amount someone pays, the bigger the prize. Zoro’s eyes sparkle for a brief moment when he checks the prize box carefully. If he pays one dollar, Sanji will send him a thank you message. Good enough for such a small amount of money. For five dollars Sanji can give a shout out in one of his videos. Right, now that Zoro thinks about it, he remembers how Sanji dedicated a few videos to some viewers. That actually sounds good, Zoro would love to hear his name whispered in an upcoming video, but he checks the rest anyway.

The tier that sparks his interest though is a twenty dollar one, which would grant him a personalised ten-minute-long video. Zoro pulls himself higher on the pillow into a sitting position, eyes still glued to the screen. He can have his very own video sent to him? One that Sanji would record _especially_ for _him_? Zoro’s mind gets back to his bank account balance and he lets out a defeated sigh. He has as much money as a stereotypical student – none. But he’s going to support Sanji with an exact amount of twenty freaking dollars, even if he has to eat instant ramen every day for the rest of the month.

To be able to donate and discuss details with Sanji, he has to create an account, the page tells Zoro. His stomach does a flip when he realises he’s going to talk with Sanji. It’s “business matters”, obviously, but it still makes him feel giddy. The platform even lets him choose a profile picture and he doesn’t hesitate to do so (not that Zoro hopes Sanji would actually check him out or something, of course not). He sends the money and waits a while, tapping the edge of his phone with his fingers impatiently. No response comes, but it should be obvious, considering the late hours. So after twenty more minutes of anxious waiting, Zoro plays one of Sanji’s newest videos and lets himself fall asleep.

What wakes him up the next morning is a vibration of his phone right against his cheek. Zoro groans with his eyes still closed, not eager to get up so early when his classes start in the afternoon. He turns around on the bed and almost slips back to his dreamland when something clicks in his head and he sits up abruptly. After reaching for his phone he sees a notification from the support platform, telling him he received a reply from Sanji. Why am I so nervous, Zoro thinks to himself when clicking the message open.

“hi! thank you for supporting me! can you tell me what you want to be included in the video? i will start working on it as soon as i get your reply ;)”

Zoro gawks at the winking smiley face for a second before furrowing his brow. Right, he’s never thought what exactly he wants Sanji to record. Maybe he should just list off the triggers that work for him? He’s in the middle of raking his mind for ideas when he glances at the smiley again. Or maybe… Maybe he should be more daring. It’s his video after all. If Sanji doesn’t want to do that, he can tell him so, can’t he? Zoro takes a deep breath and finally starts typing on his phone.

“hi there! do you think you can do something like a personal attention video? with camera touching and positive affirmations? i have a big exam coming up soon and your voice would be perfect for unwinding ;)”

Zoro reads the message over and over again before pushing the send button so hard he’s sure it would leave a dent in his screen. There, he did it. It’s nothing weird when he goes through his request again. And he does in fact have an exam soon so Sanji’s video would be the best reward possible. Especially when he reads his next message later, he is filled with sudden energy to study like a madman.

“alright, do your best on the exam! keeping fingers crossed! :D”

*******

“Roronoa Zoro arriving before me _and_ revising the material? Where is the real one? Did you get abducted by aliens?”

“Shut up” Zoro growls when looking up and meeting Usopp’s surprised face. His friend is raising an eyebrow suspiciously at him, knowing something serious must have happened in Zoro’s life for him to change this drastically.

“Found someone?” a teasing smile dances on Usopp’s face but it disappears quickly when he gets attacked by Zoro’s notebook landing flat on his nose. He yelps and waves the notebook in Zoro’s direction after catching it before it falls down to the ground. “So there _is_ ”

“What kind of shitty logic is that? I just want to do well” Zoro snarls and avoids Usopp’s gaze, only proving to him that there’s something more and Zoro is embarrassed to reveal what it is. Usopp smirks but softly this time when handing the notebook back to his friend and offering to revise the material together. Zoro acts annoyed at first but still accepts Usopp’s proposal.

Zoro literally runs out of the classroom when he is done with the exam, missing Usopp’s dumbfounded expression when he flashes in front of him and disappears. He simply can’t wait to get home, relax and watch the video Sanji recorded for him. The exam wasn’t as difficult as the previous ones and Zoro realises it’s because he actually prepared himself for that one. It feels good to leave the classroom after filling every line with legitimate answer instead of stuffing it with gibberish because it’s better than leaving it blank. Maybe he can even get a score over 80% on this one, Zoro wonders when hopping into a bus and stepping from one foot to another eagerly.

When he gets home he kicks off his shoes and beelines straight to his bedroom before throwing his body onto the bed. Zoro’s smile doubles when he opens the message from Sanji, one that had his video attached.

“hope you did well on your exam! here is your video, thank you again for supporting my work! :D”

Zoro would be a big liar if he said those messages and emoticons didn’t make him feel giddy. Damn, if someone saw him now, fawning over a few meaningless texts, they wouldn’t believe it’s the same Zoro who is known as the class growler. It’s something even Zoro himself has a difficulty to understand but he lets it slide and just reaches for his earphones. He finds a comfortable position with his head squeezed into the pillow before pressing play.

“Oh, Zoro, you finished the exam already?”

 _Fuck_ , he has to pause the video for a second before going back to the beginning and letting himself listen to Sanji whispering his name once more. The blond man is looking into the camera surprised as if he really just saw him leaving the classroom and they bumped into each other in the hallway.

“How did it go? I’m sure you did well” Sanji’s surprised expression morphs into a soft, warm smile while his fingers reach towards the lens and he moves them gently as if caressing Zoro’s face. The green-haired man trembles a little, surprised that hand movements evoke such a reaction in his body. That’s another trigger to add to his favourites list. “You must be tired. You deserve to just sit back and relax” Sanji hums silently into the microphone and moves his fingers in a kneading manner. Zoro imagines Sanji giving him a nice massage and his body gradually relaxes and melts into the bedding. It feels so good when someone takes care of him; it’s not that he’s never had a boyfriend but it never felt this… domestic with anyone. It’s stupid, maybe even unhealthy to develop this strange relationship with a guy that doesn’t know him at all besides a few shared messages that had to do more with business than anything. But it just feels too good to let go when Sanji smiles at him from the screen, whispering soft “you did well” from all sides of the microphone like he’s right in front of him.

“I’ve always known you would do great at uni” Sanji speaks when moving his fingers like swiping something off of the camera’s lens and Zoro loves that particular motion. “This exam was just child’s play to you, wasn’t it?” the blond man tilts his head to the side, some strands falling over his face. Zoro shrugs involuntarily because he can’t say it was easy, but definitely easier since he actually studied. Sanji breaks into a big grin and nods gently, eyes focused on his fingers now when he curls and uncurls them in a grabbing fashion. “Thought so. You always do your best. I’m sure you can achieve whatever you want with that attitude”

Zoro feels a rush of motivation from those words. Yes, he can be hard-working when he wants to, but he is also a lazy bastard most of the time and finds it difficult to spot a reason to do so. But if Sanji tells him he can do it…

The rest of the short video Sanji whispers encouraging phrases like “you can do it” and “I know you’re tired but you will get there” into the mic, sometimes flexing his fingers in front of the camera and sometimes moving his fingertips along the spongy texture of the microphone cover. Zoro’s eyelids grow heavier and just now he realises how exhausted he is. He’s not even this tired after killer workouts at the gym, man, he’s really underestimated intellectual work all this time.

The video ends with Sanji telling Zoro he can always come back to him after another exam before he waves to the camera and the screen turns black. Zoro looks at his own face reflecting on the dark screen before letting out a soft sigh and closing his eyes. That was… Very nice. Extremely pleasant, if Zoro is honest. His whole body feels like it weighs nothing and his brain cleared out of any thoughts. Sleepiness is taking over him so he decides to help it and replays the video with Sanji’s soothing message.

After that Zoro continues to watch Sanji’s videos whenever he feels a need for a push for a goodnight’s sleep. But with days passing he starts bringing the blond creator and his videos out of his apartment too. He can relax thanks to them during a long train ride or when he needs to wait in a long queue with other students to enter a dean’s office. He never plays his special personal video outside of his bedroom though. There’s something intimate about keeping this one to himself but Zoro doesn’t want it any other way. Sanji recorded this video just for him and he can’t risk anyone else peeking over his shoulder or eavesdropping. He plays it only for his own ears and eyes every evening before sleep, but the more he does, the less contented he feels. It’s not that Sanji’s video is getting boring, but Zoro craves _more_. Those blank positive affirmations are not enough for him anymore.

It sounds crazy even to Zoro but he’s developing a crush on Sanji. A man from the screen, man that could be living on the other side of the globe for all he knows. A man with a beautiful smile and starry eyes, pale skin and weirdly shaped eyebrows that make him this unique and attractive. Sanji sometimes mentions little snippets of his life, that he enjoys long baths, that he smokes from time to time (he even created a video with smoke triggers) and likes cooking for others, but can Zoro know it’s not a part of an act? He is publishing videos online and as a creator, he can create any image that he wants in order to protect his privacy. As far as Zoro knows, his real name could be anything but Sanji. And that’s terrifying but oh so thrilling at the same time.

That’s why on a Saturday morning Zoro finds himself returning to the donations website and looks at the list of profits once more. He could always commission another short video but he searches for something more this time. There’s some savings waiting on his account and he’s more than glad to spend them on Sanji. Zoro’s eyes finally catch a price of thirty five dollars that would grant him a thirty-minute-long personalised video. His wallet is screaming in agony at such amount of money but thirty minutes of Sanji focusing only on him sounds like heaven. Zoro rubs his temples, trying to calculate if he _really_ can afford such a luxury. He can joke about living off of instant noodles but he can’t lose his head completely. It looks though that his responsible-adult-approach was short-lived because a few minutes pass and he is thirty five dollars poorer.

Sanji writes to him later the same day. Zoro is a bit nervous to open the message because he had a whole day to think about what he wants him to film this time and it’s a risky idea. However, Zoro is not a person to back out so he opens the message and snorts at his screen.

“hi! thank youuuu for another donation, i’m really happy you like my videos this much! did you enjoy the last one? any ideas for this one? ;)”

Is it just Zoro’s imagination or Sanji’s messages got friendlier? He used that winking emoticon again, forcing Zoro to smile at the screen like a silly. Zoro is in the middle of preparing himself mentally for his answer when his phone vibrates again with another message from Sanji.

“and how did your exam go? hope you did well! :D”

Zoro wants to scream in frustration because whenever he plans to try and not grow any more emotional attachment to the guy on his phone, Sanji does something like that and ruins it in a blink of an eye. Also, it gives Zoro a little hope that maybe Sanji is interested as well, even if a bit. He set a profile picture for a reason.

Zoro shakes his head and simply gets down to business. His next message is risky and he’s a bit shy to send it but he clicks the right button anyway and waits for Sanji’s response with bated breath. The blond doesn’t respond immediately and Zoro grows nervous, but doesn’t panic just yet. He just had to try; if Sanji refuses, then so be it.

His phone’s screen lights up around ten minutes later and Zoro throws himself on it like a hungry tiger. His heart is beating like crazy but this time he opens the message immediately to spare himself from extra stress.

“boyfriend roleplay? that’s something i’ve never tried, but i will do my best! it’s a longer video this time so i will get back to you in a few days :)”

The green-haired man lets out a deep sigh and he falls face first onto the bed. He really did ask Sanji for a video where he acts like a boyfriend greeting him home. And what’s more, Sanji actually _agreed_. That sounded a bit creepy in his head when the idea popped up for the first time. But he came across so many strange ASMR roleplay videos so far: mums going through your things, older sisters doing your makeup, vets, doctors, plane attendants. The more he thought about it, the less bizarre (and perverted) the idea sounded to him. He doesn’t want Sanji to do anything weird or sexual. After all, he is ordering an ASMR video, not a porn one. After receiving a positive answer from Sanji, Zoro is really curious what the man is going to come up with. He thinks about a few scenarios, some more or less innocent while the others make his face grow red.

Time seems to pass very slowly for Zoro the next few days. He does his best though to change his every day routine and squeeze in some studying between doing nothing and not doing anything. When his laziness tries to protest, he rewatches Sanji’s personal video for the nth time and gets back to work. It’s surprisingly refreshing for Zoro and he finally understands what his professors are talking about during lectures instead of taking notes like a robot without second thought. Usopp asks him about the sudden change but Zoro shrugs, as always, and receives an annoyed groan from his friend.

“No, seriously, what the hell?” Usopp punches Zoro’s upper arm when they are walking down the hallway after lectures are over. “You arrive early for classes, even earlier for exams, and you look like you are actually _paying attention_ ” Usopp counts on his fingers, curling them one by one before raising his gaze at Zoro accusingly. The other man smirks and places the strap of his bag better on top of his shoulder.

“What, you were mad when I didn’t care and now you are mad that I do?” Zoro teases him and Usopp groans, hands moving slowly down his face, stretching it comically.

“You are unbearable! I’m off!”

Zoro waves at Usopp shortly when the other one turns sharply and walks down the street in the other direction. Zoro instead walks towards the bus stop and while he is waiting for his bus to arrive, he gets a notification that Sanji sent him his video. It’s been five days now since he asked Sanji to record it for him and the little notification on Zoro’s screen fills him with so much excitement that he decides to take the next bus that shows up and walk the rest of the way on foot. He’s squeezing the phone in his hands the whole time, back to his made-up scenarios about the content of the video.

Having thrown the bag in the corner of his bedroom, Zoro sits down on his bed cross-legged and finally unlocks his phone. Sanji’s message is very short this time, with a simple “hope you enjoy it” only. Zoro furrows his brow at the uncharacteristic lack of emoticons. Did Sanji hate that commission in the end? It’s pointless to worry about such a trivial thing, Zoro decides though and reaches for his earphones before sticking them into his ears. It’s just an emoticon, he tries to reason with himself and his thumb hovers over the play button. It takes him a while to talk himself out of those thoughts and when he does, he starts the video finally.

Sanji shows up on the screen after the intro is over. He’s wearing casual clothes, just a simple t-shirt, half of which is hidden under the desk Sanji is sitting at. He’s not looking at the camera at first before he raises his gaze suddenly, acting nicely surprised with a warm smile on his face. It’s… So much different from any smiles Sanji showed in his videos. It’s full of unspoken caring and sweetness, and with the way it reaches his eyes… Zoro is mesmerised. He’s never been the type to fall for celebrities or so-called influencers or whatever, hell, he isn’t the type to fall head over heels for _anyone_. It’s beyond him how much influence Sanji has on him and how easily he wrapped him around his little finger without even intending to. It’s impossible, it’s stupid, it’s ridiculous, and the list could go on in Zoro’s head if it wasn’t for the video still playing on the screen.

“Zoro… You’re finally home” Sanji whispers, his voice even lower than usual. Zoro takes a breath sharply but doesn’t stop the video. “I missed you. I know, I know, you were away only for a few hours…” Sanji shrugs and chuckles softly. It’s a bit too sugary but Zoro knows he is acting like that on purpose. It’s a roleplay, not an actual conversation. If it’s supposed to elicit any reaction from Zoro over the phone, it has to be fussy like that. It’s not Zoro’s thing entirely and he doesn’t think it’s how Sanji would act normally either but it works.

“Oh? Want a welcoming kiss?” Sanji’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead and he moves closer to the camera before smooching the air gently. Zoro snorts because even though it’s cheesy, he can actually imagine himself asking for a kiss after getting back home from school or work. He’s not the romantic type but he likes his kisses just fine. “Welcome home” Sanji whispers still close to the lens, staring into the camera and Zoro’s heart. He feels so warm all over but not in the same way as the first time he saw a video on Sanji’s channel. This time he gets lost in Sanji’s deep blue eyes as they stare into the camera but Zoro doesn’t want to think about anything between them, be it his phone’s screen or the camera lens. It’s silent for a few seconds, only the two of them looking at each other directly and indirectly at the same time. Sanji moves away too soon, leaving Zoro wanting more. How he wishes he could look into that endless blue for real.

The rest of the video is full of domesticity and triggers that Zoro can only call as cute. Sanji cuts the video into parts and after greeting him home, he moves with everything to the kitchen. The microphone catches sounds of sizzling vegetables and meat, clinking cutlery, salt and pepper shaking in their containers. Sanji moves closer to the mic from time to time to let Zoro hear the sounds better and even wafts his hand in the air to let Zoro smell the dish, as if he is sitting at the table, waiting for his boyfriend’s dinner.

“It’s really good” Sanji whispers after trying the food and even moves the spoon closer to the camera, wanting Zoro to sample it too. His stomach churns at the sight of red, steamy sauce, looking like a delicious first-class dish after days of eating burgers and fries. “Good, right?” Sanji’s eyes crinkle in the corners when he smiles, probably imagining Zoro nodding.

The video cuts again soon and when Sanji slides back into the frame, it’s in the living room. The shot is closer this time, mainly focused on his face and hands. Zoro slumps into the pillow, enjoying how it’s embracing his head now when Sanji is this much closer.

“I’m sure you would enjoy a nice massage, wouldn’t you?” Sanji’s fingers move in the air in the corners of the screen and Zoro can easily imagine them touching his head. A pleasant shiver starts at his nape and his eyes get droopy when Sanji cocks his head to the side, hands still working on his massage. “Feels nice, hm? You worked hard today, Zoro...” Sanji whispers very close to the microphone and Zoro can even hear his breath clearly. He starts humming very silently then when his eyes focus on the fingers curling and uncurling in the air, sometimes moving behind the camera as if reaching to the back of Zoro’s head.

It feels so good, this innocent type of intimacy. Zoro realises he craves this type of a relationship more now when he moved out of his family house and started living on his own. High school times were all about partying and fun and the same applied to dating. At that time he mainly looked out for skinship, if he even looked out for anything to begin with. But now, when he comes back to his silent apartment, he wishes there was another soul to keep him company. And if it was someone close, not just a random flatmate, it would be even better. Like in the video, it would be nice to come back to a warm dinner or maybe prepare it together, watch the same movie for the tenth time or receive a massage. Shit, Zoro has to slap a hand over his eyes at those sappy thoughts. What’s up with him to crave this type of domesticity all of a sudden?

Zoro can’t deny how attractive he finds Sanji, not that he ever tried to, what with the way he reacted to the very first video he watched. But there’s more to him than simple handsomeness; there’s always that warm light in his blue eyes, playfulness in his smile and a soothing lilt in his voice. It’s a stupid roleplay and Zoro _knows_ that and yet he really wants it to be real. When was the last time he felt this strongly about someone? High school maybe? No, he was attracted to some people back then but it never reached this point. Was it because it’s been a long time since he went out with someone or was it simply because it was Sanji?

All that thinking after a long day at university, completed with Sanji’s relaxing video, is taking its effect on Zoro and he’s growing more and more sleepy within seconds. It’s like Sanji noticed it from the screen because he looks into the camera and smiles tenderly.

“You’re getting sleepy? I guess I’m good at massaging” the blond man whispers and moves his hands away from the camera, instead putting them on top of the microphone to create calming deep sounds when stroking it. “It’s alright, take a nap… I will be here when you wake up...”.

Obviously, when Zoro wakes up, Sanji isn’t there and Zoro’s had enough.

*******

“help” reads the simple message Zoro’s just sent. He spent a good half of his day thinking which one of his friends would offer him best advice. Usopp is a great friend, but he can get a bit too nosey (literally and figuratively) and tiring. Luffy is the one that would do anything for his friends, but that also means not caring about consequences when doing so. It could turn into a disaster and Zoro wouldn’t have a heart to scold him. So it leaves him with an option that could be difficult at first, but would reward him in the end.

“what is it this time??” Perona answers almost instantly and Zoro imagines her annoyed face easily. She is not a bad friend, but their relationship is different from the usual friendship one. Still, he knows he can count on her and even if she acts irritated, she will help him out.

“there’s a guy i want to ask out. how?” Zoro replies simply and scratches his chin with a scowl. Shit, now that he thinks about it, Perona will probably need more information about Sanji to be able to give him any piece of advice.

“idiot, i need more details” comes the message Zoro anticipated. After a short while, his phone vibrates once more. “who is it? have you met?”

This is the moment when Zoro starts second-guessing his decision. He would probably be fine on his own, but he doesn’t want to screw up when it comes to Sanji. Especially at the very beginning. If he starts out creepily Sanji would block him in best case. And how in hell is he going to explain to Perona that Sanji is an ASMR videos creator, that he has a crush on him and he already commissioned two not-so-ordinary personal videos from him? That’s not something he wants anyone to know about.

“we shared some business conversations. he’s a video producer and i saw him in his videos”

That sounds about right to Zoro. He’s not lying, just putting the truth in words that sound more plausible. Perona seems to be digesting all the facts because her answer comes after ten long minutes.

“he saw you?”

Zoro wonders why in the world it’s important for Perona to know that but he decides to answer her question since he really wants her to help him. And the best way to do that is just follow whatever she says.

“he saw my photo”

“well then you’re screwed”

A vein pops out on his forehead and starts pulsing against his temple. Of course she had to tease him about his looks. Perona is really difficult to read – sometimes she acts as if in a different world she could even be interested in him, and other times she acts like a bully. He stopped caring long ago, but it still amazes him sometimes.

“okay, how about you simply start talking to him?” Perona writes again like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“but _how_ ” Zoro is growing impatient. He wrote to her in hopes of practical advice that he could put to work this instant. He still didn’t tell Sanji anything about the last video because he wanted it to be a start of a conversation, not a sorry end of it.

“so, you said you had some ‘business talk’, whatever that means. use that peanut-sized brain of yours and start with that. jeez, you’re so helpless”

Zoro should feel offended but after such a long time it doesn’t affect him in the slightest. Especially because Perona has a point; if he just writes a message that refers to the video Sanji sent him, but at the same time invites him to continue their conversation, maybe they will go smoothly from there. It’s tragic that Zoro is terrible at flirting but he will think of something. So he thanks Perona crudely for her help and opens his conversation with Sanji. Having thought for a few minutes, Zoro decides that any more brain workout would kill his last braincells so he sends a message that seems the best in the end.

“wow, that was way better than i expected. your boyfriend is lucky”

Does it sound desperate? Maybe.

Can Zoro think of anything better? No.

The only thing that’s left for Zoro to do now is to wait. He busies himself with things you would rarely see Roronoa Zoro doing – cleaning the kitchen, making up his bed, wiping dust off a table that he never uses. His head is still in his phone and when he thought he could forget about it for a second, his mobile buzzes against his thigh. He fishes it out and unlocks at the speed of light.

“maybe if i had one, he would think so :’)”

Zoro bursts out laughing because of two factors: Sanji’s choice of emoticons and the fact that he is actually single. Isn’t that a sign for him to get it going? Also, if Sanji didn’t want to continue their conversation in the way Zoro suggested, he would have ignored the second half of his message. However, Zoro’s understanding of flirting isn’t the best, so he can’t tell if it’s flirting yet or not really. No matter what, he is happy Sanji answered.

“that’s hard to believe” he types and sends. It’s then that he realises they are still talking in the chat provided by the donation website. It feels a bit gross to do that here. For some reason Zoro has a feeling that they are monitoring all conversations for safety measures and they would come across that too.

“is that a compliment? :P”

Zoro smirks to himself because it worked better than he expected.

“it is ;)”

The conversation comes to a halt though and Zoro isn’t smiling anymore. He needs to think of something quickly, anything really, just to keep it going. His bank account won’t let him order another video from Sanji. Besides, it would be creepy if he did that, if the whole thing isn’t creepy enough already. However, judging by Sanji’s message, he is safe. Before Zoro can come up with anything better than asking Sanji the lamest line of how his day was, the other man writes back faster.

“hey, think we can move somewhere else? for some reason writing in this provided chat gives me creeps >_<”

Oh, how much Zoro adores Sanji. Not only did he use the cutest emoticon possible (and Zoro can easily imagine him making the same exact face), but he was the one who suggested they continue their talk outside the support website. Which means they are leaving the “business” grounds. Which means Sanji wants to get to know Zoro better. Zoro doesn’t know what did the trick – his profile photo, his unusual commissions or clumsy flirting. Or maybe it was everything together. Whatever it was, Zoro’s thankful and all smiles when replying to Sanji.

“you just read my mind :)”


End file.
